Branford Marsalis
CAROLINA SHOUT
There are few saxophonists, let alone musicians, in history with as much range as Branford Marsalis. Whether it’s his work as a classical soloist fronting orchestras or as the leader of his cutting edge quartet, Branford brings a sense of authenticity and purpose to his work without sounding derivative. He has time and time again challenged himself to embrace various genres and explore their possibilities. From his pop work with Sting in the mid 1980’s to his exploration of hip hop with Buckshot Lefonque a decade later, Marsalis has demonstrated the courage to move from one style to the next without hesitation.
He of course comes from one of the greatest musical families in New Orleans. His father Ellis, along with his brothers Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason, have collectively made immeasurable contributions to American music. His career got off to an early start while still at Berklee College, performing with Lionel Hampton and Art Blakey’s big bands in 1980. But it wasn’t long before he joined his brother Wynton, first as a member of Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in 1981, then with Wynton’s new quintet in 1982, that his career would skyrocket.
Branford quickly established himself as one of the top young talents on saxophone. In 1984, he would record his first album for Columbia, Scenes in the City, starting a run of recordings as a leader for the label. By the early 90’s, the Branford Marsalis Quartet, along with pianist Kenny Kirkland, bassist Robert Hurst, and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, would become one of the music’s elite small groups. Their ability to shift meters and grooves cohesively with relentless energy and interplay makes them one of the hallmark rhythm sections in jazz. Marsalis’ quartet work can be challenging to understand at first, but it is consistently rewarding for those willing to invest the time to listen.
By the time the track “
Carolina Shout,” was recorded in 2003, Branford had created his own record label, Marsalis Music, and was actively balancing a classical career alongside his quartet work. This track is the closing number on the album, Romare Bearden Revealed, dedicated to the painter whose works had been influenced by jazz. Originally written as a solo rag by the great pianist James P. Johnson, Marsalis reimagines “Carolina Shout” as a soprano sax - piano duet with his childhood friend, Harry Connick, Jr. The performance is fiery and joyful, indicative of their playing styles, and trades off melody and accompaniment roles between the two.
After delivering quick exchanges on the melody and Harry’s subsequent piano solo, Branford bursts in for his solo with huge vibrato, recalling shades of Bechet. In bar 117, he quotes the classic traditional jazz melody, “Mahogany Hall Stomp”:
This melody is no stranger to Branford. In 1990, as part of the closing credits for Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues, Branford produced the hip hop track “Jazz Thing” with DJ Premiere. The track, which is in essence a history of jazz seminar, begins with a sample of Louis Armstrong’s version of “Mahogany Hall Stomp” with his Hot Seven. There’s no doubt this colloboration fueled Marsalis’ later hip hop recordings, which are some of my favorites in his discography.
Bar 116 offers an excellent example into chromatic playing using half step upper and lower neighbors, also known as approach tones. Over the C Major, Branford circles the target chord tone of C with the C# above and B natural below:
Marsalis reprises this technique a few bars later, targeting the C natural again but this time over a D–7:
We actually saw Doc Cheatham use this exact same device a few times last week over his solo on “Sheik of Araby,” one example shown below targeting the Bb in bar 128:
Perhaps one of Branford’s greatest talents is his use of rhythmic displacement, purposely turning the beat around to create tension and release. Harry is also an expert manipulator of time, using his left hand stride technique to similar effect. Feeding off Connick, Branford begins an extended phrase in bar 124 that sees a four beat theme shift metrically as it progresses:
Observe how the phrase in bar 124, beginning on beat 3, shifts throughout this passage. Simply by adding an extra E natural, he repeats the phrase on the and of 3 in bar 125. Marsalis essentially uses odd number note groupings to create this effect. Through similar adjustments, he repeats the line on beat 4 in bar 126 and then on beat 1 in bar 128. Marsalis ultimately resolves the theme over the B7-Bb7-A7 chromatic walkdown in bars 128-129.
Years of experience and mastery come to fruition in one brilliant line. This juxtaposition of time creates momentum that drives the solo to its conclusion. It also bears mentioning that Branford has one of the great soprano sax sounds in history, and that any opportunity to hear it in a minimal setting such as this is invaluable.